Red State: Blue State

[LiberalAndProud]

Paul Olson
UNL Professor Emeritus

http://www.nebraskansforpeace.org/articles/redstatebluestate.php

True, we are almost the reddest of red states. We like red meat, Big Red, good red wars and vote for red presidents: 65½ percent for Ronald Reagan in 1980, 62 percent for Bush in 2000, an even higher 66 percent for him in 2004 — astonishingly high percentages for emperors without clothes. Lyndon Johnson, the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Nebraska, won the vote in 1964 only after he’d won the backing of Peter Kiewit, owner of one of the nation’s largest military construction companies and the Omaha World-Herald.

Why for over half a century have we voted for these warmongering military spenders? How did it happen that in just a couple of generations we managed to abandon and repudiate our historic peacemaking roots? Finding myself recently at the Comstock Windmill Country music festival, where thousands of good old Nebraska folks came to camp and drink beer and have innocent fun, I saw no Nebraskans for Peace stickers, no other peace signs, nothing to indicate disapproval of where we are going. I saw “Support Our Troops” yellow ribbons, “America — Love It or Leave It” and the whole gamut of ‘Kill the enemy’-style stickers and shirts. I heard ‘kick ass’ talk—this from the economic class to whom the war costs go and from whom the war dead come.

It was not always so.

Anti-War Vigils
Wednesdays
Lincoln Federal Building, 15th & 'O' Streets, 5:00-6:00 p.m. Call 402-499-6672 for more information.

[acmavm]

1. Nebraska is and always will be a very mean-spirited state as long as

the old 'farmer mentality' is alive and well. And by that I mean the old 'life is SUPPOSED to be hard' theory that when applied means that everyone should just shut up and quit their bitchin'. That is unless the farm subsidy check isn't in the mail.

You need to go back to Johnson's term and look at what the hell lost the state for the democrats. It was the civil rights and the equal rights amendments. Those two issues set the angry white farmer's shorts into such a bunch that it went republican and never, ever looked back.

As far as supporting the 'war', a lot of Nebraskan's supported Viet Nam too. And that goes back to the 'life is SUPPOSED to be hard' tenet. We don't take care of our poor, care for the elderly is not a big issue, our small towns are dying, corporate farming is taking over. Corporations are excused from paying hundreds of millions every year while the citizens of this state pay one of the highest property and sales tax rates in the nation.

While I am not a member nor do I support the Green Party, they do have an amazing site that lays out in easy to understand language how Nebraska is being fleeced by corporate America.

<snip>
Corporate welfare in Nebraska
By Shane Pekny
Originally Printed in Green Focus
August 19, 2002

It's been called the second war among the states. In competing for new jobs and investment dollars, Statehouses set aside hundreds of millions in tax breaks for U.S. corporations. But if the war were truly waged among the states, you'd expect some states to lose and others to win. Instead, every single state is losing - some more painfully than others - and corporate America is winning.
In Nebraska, the Employment and Investment Growth Act, commonly referred to as LB775, dishes out more than $100 million annually to the state's corporate residents. That's a boondoggle, especially in the wake of recent budget cuts, including:
- Reducing state aid to K-12 schools by $22 million in the Legislature's 2002 regular session.
- In the recent special session, removing 26,000 Nebraskans from Medicaid rolls, which does far more than close a loophole.
- Starving the Environmental Trust Fund out of existence.
- Holding the University of Nebraska's budget growth to the rate of inflation.
The Legislature has refused to cork this hole in the state's budget, despite evidence that business tax incentives are ineffective. It makes you wonder whether District 11 Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha is right when he says, repeatedly, "Big business owns this Legislature."
Here's six things Nebraska's business lobby, led by the Chamber of Commerce, won't tell you about LB775 and other business tax incentive programs:

http://www.nebraskagreens.org/lb775.html

-MORE- (And I recommend that Nebraskans read this whole article. It's a little dated but that only means that conditions have gotten worse for the taxpayers and those who aren't a 'corporate citizen' of this state.)

We've had a recent rash of shooting deaths here in Omaha, mainly in North Omaha. The black community is up in arms because we've had a serious injury/death or two a night for over a month. The solution? More police officers, camera in hot spots, and a call to the community to clean up its act. No thought to the root of the problem, the poverty, the lack of jobs for young men, the feeling of hopelessness, and the decided lack of positive role models. Nope, police and cameras and snitching.

We have a stadium in South Omaha that has been renovated many times over the years and the College World Series is held there. Perfectly fine, updated and modern, stadium that this city can be proud of. Visitors who attend the series always compliment the city of the stadium, its facilities, and the way its run. So what does that dumb shit idiot mayor we have want to do?????? Build a NEW stadium downtown, close to the Old Market. We already are on of the highest taxes city/state areas in the whole friggin' country and these crappy hayseed politicians want to make up pay for a NEW stadium. The homeless have not place to go during the day in the heat, the Food Bank is consistently short of food and funds, We have old people who do without medicine and basic necessities, kids have no where to go because they closed EVERYTHING we had to make way for HY-Vees and other shit, the biggest draw we had, the horse races at Ak-Sar-Ben were discontinued and Ak-Sar-Ben given to First Data Corp. under that agreement that they would create 2000 jobs and what happened? First Data laid off more than that. And amazingly the area now at 72nd Pacific is now another strip mall. Who made money on that deal I'd like to know? What else has this nimrod asked for? Why a footbridge to Iowa so people can get to the casinos. These farmers will not allow gambling in Nebraska so the Omaha city government wants to build a bridge to enable people to get there more easilly.

Add all this to the fact that our democrat senator brags about his votes in support of this corrupt republican administration. Our 'Democratic Party' (what a laugh) is run by a 4' tall, suspender wearing, attorney that practices CORPORATE LAW. Now if that ain't an oxymoron if I've ever head one.

Why are we where we are today? This state is one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to 'good old boy' politics and its need, no that's too damn mild, it's DEMAND that only the petty, grasping, greedy desires of the white anglo-saxon Protestant male be heard, be enforced, be official policy, and f**k everyone else.

[TheFarseer]

2. good rant

What do you think about Nebraska implementing an EIC credit last year?

I'd much rather see this money put into poor school districts or promoting job creation, keeping people on Medicaid and not jacking tuition at the Universities out of sight than throwing $200 at poor people when the Feds are already doing WAY more than this for working families with their EIC. It's too "give a man a fish" for me especially when we have just about the highest taxes in the country.

[acmavm]

3. I laughed myself silly. How the hell far does and earned income credit

of $200 lousy bucks go? Especially when we give hundreds of millions to corporate Amerika?

The problems with the school districts was a big fight, remember? The lack of investment in schools in poor areas (like North Omaha) caused Ernie Chambers to get his shit in a uproar. They busted the Omaha school districts into three parts because the schools out North were being overlooked and ignored at funding time. They were never given a voice into how the money was spent.

Collge? Forget about it. Tuition is getting so amazingly outrageous they're slamming the doors on all but a select few Nebraskans. Those with parents who have the money are welcome. Scholarships don't cut it, there aren't that many to go around.

While housing and jobs aren't as expensive as they are in some other states, pay is a lot less as well. It's all proportional. And for young kids, there are no opportunities at all. There are only so many jobs at Burger King and McDonalds. It's a bitch when the most successful businessman on your block is the local crack dealer.

Medicaid:

<snip>Medicaid is only available to certain groups of low-income people.

In Nebraska, Medicaid is only available low-income children and their parents, pregnant women, the aged, and the disabled. The income eligibility limit is different for each category. Low-income parents are only eligible for Medicaid if their income is below 49% of the federal poverty level or $9482.00 annually for a household of four. The aged and disabled are eligible up to 100% of the federal poverty level or $19,350 annually for a household of four. Pregnant women and children are covered up to 185% of the federal poverty level or $35,798 annually for a household of four.

Medicaid only covers services that are medically necessary.

Medically necessary services are those that are necessary to meet the basic health needs of the client and are rendered in the most cost efficient manner.

http://www.arc-nebraska.org/WhatisMEDICAID-NEAPPLESEEDCTR.htm

<snip>

When the hell did the State of Nebraska (E-I-E-I-O) last take a look at their guidelines and update them to what it now costs to live in the United States? What planet are they living on when you can't buy even a can of soup for less than a dollar? Gasoline is down now, but it's at $2.69 or so for one gallon? Does anyone really get 30 miles to a gallon? Seriously? Rent or a house payment can take up a whole paycheck. That's a get paid every two weeks paycheck. And those of us who are on our own with a kid or kids are really screwed.

Again I ask, how far do they expect that lousy $200.00 to go?

[TheFarseer]

4. I wish states could standardize corporate tax rates

so they wouldn't have to "out-bid" each other to get corporations to come to their state. Barring that, I guess I don't have as big of a problem with give-aways to corporations by the state to try and get good jobs to come here. Of course you run the risk of getting screwed like with First Data but it's worth a try to attempt to get a good tax base in the state. If you don't have good jobs in the state, you can't have good social services or good schools, it's almost that simple.

I liked Ernie's proposal in that it would put more local control in those struggling schools so long as the money was equal. People don't want their own kids to fail so they would do the best they could for those schools. This is the failure of No Child Left Behind - one monolithic solution for every kid in America is just so stupid it's hard to comprehend how bush got anyone to go along with this. Of course half the problem with schools and Universities is that bush pulled some of the funding because his budget was so far out of whack already, so now of course they have to raise tuition. They really have no choice.

One thing is for sure, median income in Nebraska is not rising as fast as the cost of soup or bread or gas, that's for sure and those idiots in the Unicameral and our empty suit governor are not helping.